Clark manager remits record-high dividends

MANILA, Philippines — The state-run manager of the Clark Civil Aviation Complex has transmitted its highest dividends ever to the government, thanks to higher profit it gained from commercial activities.

For 2024, Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) remitted P282 million in dividends to the Bureau of the Treasury, the highest it has contributed to the government since its inception.

The amount also exceeded by 40 percent the P202 million dividends the CIAC handed over in 2023, reflecting the agency’s recovering finances in the privatization aftermath.

CIAC president and CEO Joseph Alcazar said the agency’s dividends went down from 2019 to 2021 after it passed on the management of the Clark International Airport to the private sector. When the airport was still with CIAC, it remitted a record P161 million in dividends in 2019.

Now, CIAC is left with the task of developing the 2,367-hectares Clark Civil Aviation Complex where the Clark International Airport is located. The agency raises revenue mainly from leasing land to locators.

Based on its financial report, CIAC booked a profit of P506.02 million last year, up by 71 percent from P295.24 million in 2023.

CIAC earned P924.51 million in revenue, driven by P770.17 million in lease earnings, as the Clark Civil Aviation Complex welcomed more businesses.

All of this enabled CIAC to hike dividends to the government in compliance with its mandate under Republic Act 7656, or the Dividends Law, requiring state-run firms to remit 50 percent of their profit to the Treasury.

Alcazar also committed to keep the good financial housekeeping that CIAC has been known for. The Association of Government Accountants of the Philippines recognized the CIAC as one of the country’s outstanding accounting offices from 2019 to 2024.

In 2024, the Department of Finance named CIAC as one of the state-run firms that settled its dividends ahead of deadline. The agency is also recognized by the Governance Commission for GOCCs for fulfilling the items in its corporate governance scorecard.

For 2025, CIAC eyes to expand its number of locators to 71 and generate at least 1,800 new jobs.

Moreover, CIAC aims to finish the highest air traffic control in the Philippines by the second quarter of this year ahead of more flights coming into the Clark International Airport.